M&S announces Sunderland store closure date

Marks and Spencer has served Sunderland for decades

Marks and Spencer (M&S) has announced it will close its store in the centre of Sunderland on 25 May.

The retailer, which has run a store on High Street West in Sunderland for several decades, is opening a new store at the Washington Galleries on 30 May.

The new 47,000 sq ft shop will replace the M&S Simply Food currently located at the retail park.

Locals have previously told the BBC that M&S's exit from the high street was a "blow".

Hayley Ramm, from Sunderland, previously said: "It's going to take people out of Sunderland again and Washington is not great for people who shop here to get to."

Former Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston previously told BBC Tees: "We have to accept the nature of the high street is changing. Town centres need to reinvent themselves."